Hank – The heat, humidity, and 60+ miles took a toll yesterday so we decided on a short day today of maybe 30 miles. Gretchen cooked up some French toast for breakfast and we left her to pack for her tour that starts tomorrow. We got back on the Erie Canal Trail and puttered along to Macedon and then Palmyra. It rained hard enough for five minutes that we got our rain jackets out. The jacket kept the rain out but the sweat in. I was happy the rain ended quickly.

We stopped for a sandwich at the Muddy Creek Cafe, a bike-friendly place right on the canal. I hung my jacket on a chair to dry. After getting back on the road again, Kathy didn’t care for the hills so we returned to the mostly flat canal trail.

We stopped for a short break near Newark, NY when another touring couple rode up and said hello. Ryan and Ali left Portland, OR two months enroute to New York City. They have a YouTube channel and they’ve been creating content during this tour that focuses on love. (They’re a young couple.) After hearing our story they asked if we would talk on camera. So now we’re YouTube guests!

We quickly wrapped up the day and got to Anne and Carl’s farm near Lyons, NY. Anne and Carl are retired environmental engineers. They worked at the EPA. Anne was in the enforcement division. Remember the Volkswagen emissions scandal? She was there for that. She had also worked on a similar huge case involving diesel engines many years ago. She said it was a billion dollar case before there were billion dollar cases. Now she and Carl are working at becoming as self sufficient as possible on their farm. They’ve done several tours on a tandem road bike in the northeast and out west. Anne has also toured in Europe when she was young. Anne prepared a wonderful wholesome meal with homemade spaghetti sauce and locally grown meat and veggies. We we’re stuffed.

One of Anne’s many talents is stained glass windows. She made the windows for all her cupboard doors.

Kathy – Well today was one of those days where I really didn’t feel like riding. It maybe a combination of the heat again or our longer day of riding yesterday with all the climbing. Regardless I was happy we chose to only go 25 – 30 miles today. We rode 28 miles today with the temps again in the 90’s with the heat index. Sometimes we were on the gravel trail which slows us down significantly and other times we were on the roads which increased our speed but also included constant rolling hills. So you pick the best of the two. The trail was it for our last 10 miles today. It was too hot and muggy to continue climbing the hills on the street route. Today seemed to drag on for such s short ride day. I’m thinking the heat and ride yesterday took a bit more out of me than I care to admit. Happy to have the days ride done.

Today’s landscapes were a mix of farmlands, small towns and shops and the Erie Canal Trail. Even though I was a hot day, it was a beautiful ride. I was happy to end the day and meet our new Warm Showers host Anne and Carl. They have a beautiful country home that they are in the process of renovating. It is amazing to see the beautiful woodwork and all the preservation to restore much of it back to the original state. We enjoyed lots of good conversations and a delicious dinner together. Lucky to meet such great hosts that make you feel comfortable in their home. We are thankful for people like Anne and Carl for opening up their home to us. It was a good day but we hoping for a good night’s sleep too.